Catching Up

Yes, I know it's been awhile since I posted, and even longer since I've posted any pictures; but I finally know how to get the pictures off my phone without Aron's help, so here are bunch of pictures in no particular order:

We went on a spur-of-the-moment camping trip about 2 months ago because Aron had 2 days off in a row and because, well, he has all the equipment. It was fun when we first got there, but the whole sleeping-in-a-tent thing in under 50 degree weather is not exactly my cup of tea. It might have been a little more fun if Elizabeth had her own place to sleep, but she was crowded in with Aron and I (on a blow-up mattress though, so a little less "roughin' it") and it was a very tight fit, especially since the dew built up on the tent and if you touched the sides, you got wet! We planned to stay in the morning and do some adventuring in the woods, but when we woke up at the crack of dawn, it was so freezing and we hadn't kept any wood dry, so there was no way to make a fire. The kids and I sat in the truck with the heat on while Aron packed everything up. Good thing it was only about 20 minutes from home, otherwise we would've all been really bummed. That's what you get for thinking you can pull off primitive camping without really planning first!

Isn't she just adorable?! I love this picture! Our friends had brought their Bumbo chair to band practice and Elizabeth really liked being able to sit up all by herself.

Elizabeth's first bites of rice cereal.

An extremely rare picture....Elizabeth smiling! Not that she rarely smiles, it's just that my camera puts off this red light every time I go to take a picture so she usually is all wide-eyed at it (Notice, this is a side shot of her smiling)! What you can't see is Nathan dancing like a maniac in front of her making her laugh! One of his favorite pasttimes!

Another benefit to homeschooling....reading to younger siblings! Nathan was doing his reading assignment and Elizabeth was sitting enjoying the story.

I absolutely adore this stage, when they find their feet!

Nathan being his crazy self!



Gross guts!

And this....how can I describe it? The vehicle upheld by angels? I don't know, but I do know that my Jesus has plans for us! Otherwise, we should all be very seriously hurt or worse! If you look at the front "beam" that is between the side window and windshield, you'll see how it bent to support the weight of the truck being on it's roof...well, from stuff I've read online about this same vehicle, apparently, it hasn't supported it well in the past and people have died from the car collapsing on top of them! Also notice the back window is broken out....from what I've read, the seatbelts have often malfunctioned in this vehicle and people have been ejected from rear windows in this type of accident! And there are evn more crazy things that should've happened that didn't, confirming in us that God absolutely heard and answered our prayer when we asked Him to keep us safe as we traveled and to put angels all around us as we drove, and further confirming that we know God has a purpose for us, for our family! Praise be to the God and Father of us all, who is mighty to save, who is our Rock and our Fortress!!!!

Still in Shock

For those of you who don't already know, we were in an accident today while heading to visit Aron's grandparents in Tampa. We're all ok, which is so unbelieveably amazing, considering we had a tire blow-out and rolled once, landing on the roof of the car. Aron was driving, which I'm so thankful for because I'm pretty positive I wouldn't have known what to do, and tried his hardest to regain control of the SUV, but once it hit the dirt of the side of the interstate, it just flipped over.

It was very scary, and I'm still in shock over what happened and that none of us are in the hospital tonight or even worse, which was totally possible considering what happened. I'm still in shock realizing how no one else was hit as Aron desperately tried to keep the truck on the road. We were fishtailing pretty badly and it's a miracle that no other vehicle was involved. I'm still in shock that within seconds of us stopping, there were almost 10 strangers stopped to see what help they could offer. I'm still in shock that even hanging upside down in her carseat, Elizabeth never even cried (neither did any of the other kids, although the boys did awhile later after I think it all sunk in). I'm still in shock that somehow, Aron within seconds of landing, was in the back seat (the third row!) getting Nathan and Anna released from their seatbelts and out the back side window which had shattered. I'm still in shock, that despite the intensity of the "bump" we felt, no one was hurt, besides some scrapes that Aron and his mom got. I'm still in shock that the rescue workers were amazed at our conditions, and that one of the firefighters was a guy Aron went to highschool with who had known, via Facebook, that we were in town, never expecting to "meet up" with him this way.

It's interesting, that one thing we prayed as we left NC on early Wednesday morning, was that angels would surround our car as we traveled. Well, after this experience today, I most assuredly believe that God answered our prayer. This could have turned out so many other terrible ways, but I'm firmly believing we were protected by the Lord and His angels. Nathan commented while we were waiting for friends and family to come pick us up, "I think God put a forcefield around our car in inside it too!" Buddy, I don't doubt it for a second!

I'm such a practical, thrifty girl, and immediately, my mind wants to go to the fact that as of a month ago, we were already down one car and were needing to find a second vehicle...now we need two, and I don't know how we're going to do it. I also think about the fact that we almost had this car paid off (we'd bought it with our home equity line of credit and had almost fully paid that part of the loan off) and now we have to start over. I also think about how because we didn't carry a loan on the truck, we had the bare-bones insurance, so we'll get only what we can get from the junkyard for it. But then I remember that we are all safe, we are all alive, and money means nothing. I'd rather be in debt up to my eyeballs and have my family safe and with me!

Please be in prayer for this situation. We KNOW it works! We are LIVING proof today!

I'm Thankful, I Think

I've been slacking on my Thankful Thursday posts....sorry. As I sit here, on a Friday, I'm thinking of the things that I am thankful for, although if I was being perfectly honest, I kinda wish they were different. So as my title says, here are the things that I'm thankful for, I think:

*that my little Elizabeth is so attached to me. I'm trying to remember when she wakes up several times at night, when she takes forever to get to sleep, when she won't let me put her down for more than 10 minutes, that in couple more years I'll be missing it all. I'm trying to remember that she's our last baby and to soak it all in now, that despite it being difficult at times, she is an absolute blessing and I wouldn't want it any other way.

*that we can't afford to buy new stuff. I'm trying to remember the blessing it is that almost all the furniture we own was given to us by amazing friends and family and that even though I wish I could have something different at times, I'm blessed by their gifts. In fact, it causes me to be even more resourceful with what we do have. Just yesterday, Aron helped me move the living room around, I brought down a table from the upstairs hallway, added a couple different pictures and things from around the house, and it sorta feels like a different room. Thank you God.

*that we're down to only one vehicle. Ok, this one I honestly have to say is giving me the hardest time. I'm really, really trying to be thankful, but I really, really wish we weren't in this predicament! Aron's car, which he bought right before we got married, took it's last breath 2 weeks ago. From the mechanics we've talked to, it's gonna cost a pretty penny to have it working again. We don't know if it's the wisest thing to put all that money into a nine year old vehicle, but at the same time, we certainly don't have the money to buy anything else. It has definitely caused us to be more purposeful about when and where we go, and that's a good thing. I've had to stay home more, and that's not a bad thing either, when looked at the right way. I don't know what we should do, but honestly, we're really praying God would give us another vehicle. He did it in the past, just when we needed one, and we were able to give friends of ours a vehicle too....it was a win, win!

As I finish writing, I have to say that if this is all that is "wrong" with my life, I am still so amazingly, undeservedly blessed. I feel like I've been whining, so forgive me Lord and forgive me, those of you who've read this! Jesus, You are enough. No matter how "little" I think I have, it is so much more than so many others have, and I truly am grateful. Thank You for the change in perspective by "venting" through my blog. Once again, You've provided, this time through a much needed attitude adjustment! Help me to be thankful for all things. In Your Name, Amen!!!

Ohio Trip

For my birthday this year, we decided to make a trip to visit my brother and his family in Ohio, which is where I grew up. Although I only lived in the "Amish Country" area of Ohio for 4 years (lived near Cleveland, though, from birth through most of 6th grade), this is where I feel like I grew up. It was so awesome to visit my family and to see the picturesque views of the countryside. It really is such a quaint, beautiful area of the country.

Here's a picture of an Amish farm near my brother's house.

Another farm....see the rolling hills? So pretty!

What a gorgeous sunset!

My brother Chris talking with Elizabeth. He's gonna need a lot of practice with babies....he and his wife Kara will be having their second child in March. Such a miracle, considering that their first child, Noah, just turned 11! It took awhile for them to even be able to get pregnant with him, so this was a HUGE but very wonderful surprise!

And here is Noah....he's such a great kid! He and Anna have only met twice, but they have such a special relationship. Noah loved playing with her and Anna was in heaven!

A very common sight on the roads.

Chris and Kara took us to Hershberger's, a bulk food store/bakery/petting zoo. We watched an Amish girl making homemade ice cream. It was run by a generator, but it was the real old-fashioned type of ice cream maker. We didn't have any because it was only about 10 in the morning...however, we did eat HUGE longjohn donuts, fry pies (which are like those Hostess cherry-filled iced pie thingies but homemade and with amazing fillings like elderberry, strawberry rhubarb, blackberry, etc.), and peanut butter cookie sandwiches (yes, 2 peanut butter cookies filled with peanut butter frosting...mmmmmm!).

Here's my brother with Nathan standing next to the largest workhorse in all of Holmes County. My brother is over 6 feet tall, so that might just help you realize how humongous this thing is!

Caleb, Anna, and I taking a look at the girl feeding the ponies. It was an overcast day, but it still was so great to see the beautiful scenery.

Caleb checkin' out the ponies.

Nathan talking to the pony.

We had such a nice time and hope to go back when there's snow on the ground. My Floridian husband and children still have no idea what it's like to really see snow and to do all the fun stuff, like sledding down the hills, I used to do while living there There's something about this area of Ohio that just makes my heart so happy; I doubt we'll ever live there, but it sure is awesome knowing we can visit.

Thankful Thursday

What am I thankful for today? So many things....here's just a few:

*4 healthy children who love me and their daddy and who are best friends with one another

*a loving, understanding husband who works hard to always keep communication open between us

*a God who loved His people enough to not just send a substitute to earth to pay for our sins, but who came down Himself to pay the debt that we owed

What are you thankful for?

Thankful Thursday

Tonight, as I think about the things I am thankful for, the thing that keeps coming to my mind is my church. Part of the comfort of moving from Florida to North Carolina was already having a church home established. Being a part of Discovery Church is great. What's so awesome is being able to serve under our pastor, Jason Ebeling, who Aron and I used to serve under when he was a youth pastor in Florida. We know him, trust him, and believe in him.

Just recently, Jason and the leadership at Discovery had an extremely hard decision to make. I am so proud of them for being willing to make such a difficult decision for our church body. Too many times, pastors and church leadership refuse to make choices that God asks us to make because they don't want to "step on anyone's toes" or they don't want to "cause" people to leave the church. I am so glad to be a part of a church who chooses to follow God, even when it hurts. Thanks Pastor Jason and Discovery Church for choosing the narrow road. I'm thankful to fall under your leadership.

Finally!!!

For those of you who follow my blog, you may have noticed that it has been lacking pictures for the last few months. Well, I have finally alleviated that problem! Actually, my husband, who is much more technologically-inclined, did. See, our camera broke right after my family visited for the 4th of July....big bummer, especially with a new baby in the house! But my hardworking hubby had already won a new phone at work which has a camera built into it and it came soon after in the mail. Problem was, though, that I couldn't figure out how to get the pictures from the camera to the computer. Well, I finally remembered to ask about it tonight, so here are just a random compilation of the last couple months around here:

Here's Anna "feeding" her baby, just like Mama feeds "Wiz-a-biff"

Elizabeth at almost 2 months old, just hanging out.


Here she is, sticking her tongue out.

Elizabeth literally "hanging out" with big brother Caleb (whom she looks very much like, especially in his baby pictures)....she is a great jumper already!

This is how I found Caleb one morning, right after he woke up. He has really gotten into coloring lately and does a really great job at it too!

There's my sweet baby girl.... almost 3 months old now! Can you see how much she's grown already?!

My big girl Anna being a big helper! She loves to help Mama put the dishes away.


My Libbie is growing up so fast! Here she is 3 months old. She was showing us how she can now focus on an object and work hard to reach out and touch it.


Here we are on our first day of school this year, May 23, 2009. We are all enjoying homeschooling so much! I'm so grateful for the privilege of getting to be my children's teacher. Sure, it's a lot of work and yep, it can be frustrating at times, but I love it all the same. I love to see how differently my children learn and am so glad that I am able to spend individual time with each one. As a former public school teacher, I know the challenges of trying to meet the needs of 20+ students, as each one learns differently from the next. Having taught in the school system makes me appreciate this opportunity I have and also the opportunity my children are having to get to learn what they need and want without all the distractions of a typical classroom. We are definitely not saying that we will homeschool for all of our children's entire schooling; we will constantly assess what each one needs and take it year-by-year. But as for now, it is working and going very well!

Here are Nathan and Caleb with their good buddy Colin. We were at the Watermelon Festival watching the parade and they just had to have their picture taken! Notice Nathan's mohawk! Yes, it was his choice and yes, I'm o.k with it! After all, it's just hair, right?!

Well, that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed catching up with me. I promise to do better with posting pictures!